Painting Classes

 I have taught painting classes at Robin's Gallery for fifteen years. Our paintings are rarely of a nature to share here, but this one for September fits the vibe here. I have to keep the subjects simple, as the students are often new to painting and I do not want a lot of tears. (It has happened) Here are some others we have done around this time of year. 

I have always used a lot of blue, and I am trying to stop or at least reduce it. lol

RAW

 

F This Summer Heat!

 By late summer, I am really tired of the summer heat. I have never done well in it. (I come from the land of ice and snow! Well, my ancestors do.) 

It is high time the temp starts dropping so I can get outside and enjoy myself.

The October Born

 I have always had this vison of a witch walking out to a fog covered pumpkin patch just as a big yellow moon rises over the hills on Halloween night. There are only a few gourds remaining, and they are all the twisted and rotten remnants of the harvest. She raises her hands and casts a spell. The pumpkins start to move and crack open, spilling green mist and an eerie glow. From each a different type of monster rises. A skeleton, a ghost, a vampire, a werewolf, a giant spider, and a mummy. The newly formed army of the night follow her into town to fashion a Halloween nobody will ever forget. 

(If a movie producer wants to make this, I can provide storyboards and concept designs.)

A Little Thorny

 I made this fake plant to sit with my real plants. I wanted to add a bit more magic to it all. 

Witch Hat

 I have an upcoming crafting class where we will be making little witch hats. It is kind of cute for my taste, but I can't deny that they are pretty. 

New Friends

 Critters gather in my yard sometimes. Everything else is well mowed, sprayed, and little food can be found. I like to keep a bit of my yard wild, and it makes all the difference. These two showed up on the same night, and I hope to see them return often. The children of the night just want to eat and be safe, I will help if I can. I hope you will too. 

Nightmare Spider

 This time we are getting really creepy. Most of what I draw and paint is pretty tame and not very frightening. I am always trying to improve on that. This creature is pretty frightening. It used the mummified skin and bones of its prey for a kind of shell and place to hide in wait of prey. When prey gets near, it leaps up and attacks. For some reason I imagine that the webbing of the creature is a dull black and hard to see in dark caverns, as well as powerful enough to ensnare a grown man. 

Halloween 2025

 Last year I was paid to decorate a yard for Halloween. This photo is a part of that project. I will try to find more. 

The Gay Blade of Frito Lay

 The last, for now, of our Frito Lay figure inspired illustrations.

The Gay Blade. 

Who seems to be an executioner. This type of subject was a common theme in this era of horror.

Nosferatu

I think I have painted Nosferatu like vampires more than any other monster. 

 

Harry Scary

 

Harry Scary is our next Frito Lay figure. I guess he is a werewolf with real big ears.... I don't know. Drawing him was fun. I hope you like it. Only one more to go. I do not own any of the other three yet, so I do not have them to use for reference. Stay tuned for The Gay Blade...Is that really what he is called? 

Yep. 

CROWS

 I have started building a relationship with the local crows. I have always loved wildlife and wanted to connect with them. I have seeing them gathering under the old maple tree in my front yard to eat the corn I have provided. Once they have gotten familiar with me, I plan to incorporate them in my yard haunt. I am going to put food in a custom built corpse to make it look like they are eating him. 

ALL ARE WELCOME!

 Please join me for spooky shenanigans!

TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE

“Man lives in the sunlit world of what he believes to be reality. But … there is — unseen by most — an underworld. A place that is just as real, but not as brightly lit — a Darkside.”

And now so does my water bottle. I am pretty happy with my TFTDS Ep JACK O LANTERN STICKER. I think they are going to prove to be really durable. Many more fun things to come at my STORE.

Mad Mummy

 

The Mad Mummy from the Frito Lay toys of the 1960s. The third in my series of drawings based on these tiny toys. I was not into this guy when I started. I thought he was pretty boring, but he turned out pretty well, I think. What do you think about him? Mummies are a favorite of mine, but the toy is pretty simple and he is not very detailed. I added a lot more texture than the toy has, and some visible teeth in his mouth slit.

Batty Bertha

 

I have learned more about the figures I am basing these drawings on. They were a Frito Lay give away found in bags of chips. Wow, they should bring that back. How fun is that? 

As near as I have found, this is the full set. I only own five of them. 

More to come!

Halloween Bats 365

 I painted these to decorate my carport. 

I love making cutouts and I plan to sell templates of some of my designs soon. 

Cool Ghoul (Reaper)

 

I drew this Sunday. I was in my storage and found the figure pictured. I only have a few of these, but I plan to draw each one. The reaper was always my favorite as a kid, so I started with him. These figures were produced by Multi Products in the 1960s. I was not alive then, but boy do I love the monster figures from then and all the way into the 90s.   

Keeping an Eye Out

 Watching for deliveries. I am testing my new Printify products. 

The Growing Season

 Something odd grows in the under brush and strange sounds echo through the trees. 

Sunflower

 Summerween has come and gone, but it is still too hot. 

The Studio

 I am trying to get a studio going again, but this unfinished space I have requires more money than I am likely to be able to invest to to get it in a properly usable state any time soon. For now it will largely be for storage and building monsters when the temperature allows for it. 

Tales From the Dark Side Ep1

 I have a great love for the first episode of this series. It is about Halloween, and greedy evil people getting what is coming to them. Two of my favorite things. In the episode, there is a jack o lantern that I really love and so I have drawn it and added it to my merchandise in my Printify store. The Jack has a bat for a mouth and bats are my favorite animal. Store owner Gideon Hackles likes to torment the poor children in his community and baits the parents into letting him with the chance to get out of debt. If you have not seen it, you should. I couldn't find the full episode online. 

Sam

 Sam hangs around here a lot. 

Jack

 A gallery I work with took a commission for this painting, but never took money. I painted it and the requester ghosted us. Now it hangs in the gallery waiting for a home. 

Do you want to partyyyyy! (or Punk, but slow about it)

I have been "working" on this painting for a while now. I am hell bent on getting it done before August.

(I did not get it done before August) 

Landscape

 I am thinking about doing a painting of this location to go over my couch. Am I howling mad? 

Halloween Bats

 One of my favorite things as a kid were the simple illustrations in black and orange that were on  a lot of Halloween merch in the 80s, so I have made this and some other items in my Printify Shop. Never AI, always drawn or painted by me. 

The Great Gnome Extinction

 The reason you never see any gnomes around is the invasive frogs ate them all. 

Goblin Stew

 I love to cook when I can. I make a lot of soups and stews. This one is a lot of mushroom, garlic, onion and whatever is available, which is why I call it goblin stew. 

October on the Brain

 I painted this during one of my painting classes. Sometimes the students do not need me much anymore and I start painting too. I did this in about two hours. Maybe a little less. It went home with one of my students. 

MONSTERS IN MY POCKET

 As a kid, Monsters in my Pocket series was a favorite. I am nothing if not consistent in my tastes. Each of these was based on the figure of the monster they  represent. Did you collect them? Which were your favorites?